Hanging out on Greenville's tree-lined North Main Street for drinks and a meal earlier in the evening, I picked up on a kind of jam band vibe among the crowded streets, bars and cafés. From the couple with the adorable four-month old infant in the Pearl Jam onesie (they assured us he wouldn’t be going with them to the arena), to the gatherings of friends meeting up pre-show who wanted to swap stories about how many times they’ve seen the band and how old they were when they first got turned on to them, this was a community of music lovers who took their devotion seriously.

The fact is, my photographer partner, David, and I were PJ virgins that evening. And while I knew and deeply appreciated the group’s most popular hits, I think I only owned a couple of their CD’s and I didn’t remember them in great detail, as I had never bothered to load them into my iTunes library. The subgenre of alternative rock known as “grunge” that emerged from the area of Seattle hit its stride in the early 90’s, which was post-high school/college for my partner and me, just past that period of peak intensity in musical obsession during which you’re most likely to gravitate towards and quickly adopt the latest styles and trends. Plus, as we launched careers and attempted to seriously “adult”, the themes of alienated youth so prevalent in this musical form were not quite in sync with where our heads where at.

But now, post-show, I feel like I missed a train I could have easily had a ticket for because I never realized it was going somewhere I would have actually really enjoyed so much. The thing is, while Pearl Jam has been majorly responsible for helping to popularize grunge -- the fusion of punk and heavy metal featuring distorted electric guitar, dissonant harmonies and raw sound -- the group has ultimately broadened beyond the heavier influences to create a uniquely diverse and endlessly interesting body of work with great appeal for varied moods and moments. Don’t get me wrong, Pearl Jam can rock out with the best of them, but their emotional depth and the full breadth of the styles they have mastered, when you really dig into their full catalog, are incredibly impressive.

The four numbers that followed Vs came off the band’s 10th studio album, the 2013 release, Lightning Bolt. This collection explores the full range of style and theme that Pearl Jam is capable of, and the numbers included here were a perfect, varied, tasting of this skill-set. “Mind your Manners,” which guitarist Mike McCready has described as an attempt at making a really hard edge, Dead Kennedys-sounding song, was first-up. The lyrics on this tune reflect Vedder’s feelings about the hypocrisy of organized religion. “Swallowed Whole” an evocative, mid-tempo number, followed. Reportedly written after a late night, full-moon, solo surfing session during which Vedder has been both thrilled and humbled by the huge waves, it’s one of several songs on this album that involve Vedder contemplating mortality, reflecting on “what lies beyond the grave” and how these considerations may influence how we live our lives: “I can hear the crash, I can feel the pound, I could feel the current pulling down, down, down, down. Down, down, down, down.” The artist explained to Billboard magazine that rather than wanting to focus on mortality he found it something he couldn't get away from because of the troubled society we live in, “I think part of it is not getting around it, it's getting through it,” he elaborated, “songs end up being mantras that you end up playing for yourself as well."

At this point in the show, PJ went back to Vitalogy to share more on the same theme. “Spin the Black Circle” also focused on the restorative power of music, describes the now quaint relationship one might have with a record player: “You're so warm, oh, the ritual, when I lay down your crooked arm.” “Do the Evolution” from the 1998 release, Yield, followed. In this tune, with music written by guitarist Stone Gossard, Vedder assumes the persona of a stereotypically destructive, demonic “first mammal to wear pants,” so selfish and egotistical he’s actually bragging on what an ass-hole he is. With a nod to controversy in that other Carolina just north, Vedder added a line referencing the LGBT community, in parody of how the noxious character in his musical tale might regard these folks.

The show ended at this point, but to everyone’s delight, was far from over. The first encore began by going back to Lightning Bolt for the sweetly hopeful “Future Days,” a choice inspired by an audience member who had contacted the band about being cancer-free after a multi-year struggle with the disease. Next was “Nothingman” from Vitalogy, a simple song with music written by bassist, Jeff Ament, on which Vedder once commented, “The idea is about if you love someone and they love you, don't fuck up...'cause you are left with less than nothing." In response to a young woman requesting the band play, “Inside Job” in honor of the shooting victims from the 2007 Virginia Tech tragedy, PJ offered out “Given to Fly,” another number from Yield, this one a classic rocker loosely based on Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California” (Vedder explained the group hadn’t prepared to play the song she was asking for). In this tale of a misunderstood youth who rises above his challenges and detractors, the soaring melody represents the ability of the protagonist to transcend it all and become “a human being given to fly.”

After another short break, the group returned for a final encore, this time completely repositioning themselves to face the folks in the back of the stage who’d been staring at the artist’s backs for most of the evening. These delighted fans were treated to “Last Kiss,” the teen tragedy song by Wayne Cochran. Facing to the front once again, PJ proceeded with “Breath” from the movie soundtrack for Singles, an encouraging number about grabbing life by the horns and making the most of it. Next up was “Comatose” from the self-titled 2006 album, which epitomized the band’s hard rock roots. The iconic “Better Man” from Vitalogy, followed. Never released as a single, “Better Man” has allegedly received the most radio play of any PJ song. It also spent eight weeks as number one on Billboard’s Main Stream Rock Tracks, all the more impressive for the fact that the song was written by Vedder while he was still in high school. The melody and chord progression of the tune were loosely based on the English Beat song, “Save it for Later,” and the band segued from "Better Man" into this song, ironically also written by English Beat singer/guitarist Dave Wakeling when he was a teenager.

“Alive” provided one of the most touching moments all evening, as Vedder went into the audience to hug a fan holding a sign reading, “Alive Saved My Life,” and he sung a few minutes of the song with him. The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” was up next, serving as a perfect pre-grunge teen angst anthem tying two generations together in solidarity. The simultaneously intense and wistful “Yellow Ledbetter,” originally the back-side of the “Jeremy” single and the only song shared from Lost Dog, a double-disc collection of B-sides and other released and unreleased rarities, proved to be the final number of the show. Co-written by Ament and McCready, "Yellow Ledbetter" was an outtake from the band's debut album, Ten, and is noteworthy for McCready’s Hendrix-style riffs. Although the song has never been released on one of Pearl Jam’s studio albums, it remains one of their most popular songs and provided a satisfying closure.

It was nice to see someone of Vedder’s stature with a band that has reached the pinnacle of success still working so hard to be authentic with the fans, providing a top-notch, well-rounded performance. That attitude and approach will serve Pearl Jam well going forward. And, thankfully, that should give me enough time to work towards becoming a full-fledged part of the community of passionate PJ devotees as the band matures and continues on for many more years, we hope, in the tradition of other life-long rockers. I’m already looking forward to the next tour and feeling grateful that Pearl Jam seems poised to go on evolving, entertaining and enlightening us for a long time to come.

Comments

Front Row Focus

James, thanks for your comment and query. Unfortunately, we do not have a photo for the "Alive Saved My Life" sign. David was only allowed to shoot the first three songs from the photo pit, and was not allowed to shoot anything after that (i.e., from his seat).

Sorry we cannot help.

PS: If that was you with the sign, man, that was moving. Thank you for sharing this with everyone!

Beth Baldino(non-registered)

As I didn't have an opportunity to mention him in the review, I want to acknowledge the fifth member of Pearl Jam (and sixth artist to be part of the group performing on this evening) is Matt Cameron. Matt's been a contributor to all PJ releases from Live on Two Legs, released in 1998, through today. Matt also provides back-up vocals.